TY - JOUR

T1 - An Overview of Soil and Soilless Cultivation Techniques

T2 - Chances, Challenges and the Neglected Question of Sustainability

AU - Fussy, Andre

AU - Papenbrock, Jutta

N1 - Funding Information: European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) has been supported by the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. The EU project “Aquaponics Hub—Realizing sustainable integrated fish and vegetable production for the EU” (https://www.cost.eu/ actions/FA1305/project, accessed on 2 February 2022) has aimed to develop aquaponics in the EU by guiding research through the creation of a networked hub of scientific and industry experts—scientists, engineers, economists, aquaculturists and horticulturists. The project can be divided into three areas. The first area has dealt with the development of aquaponic technologies in cities and urban areas. The second area has been concentrated on development in third world countries to promote food security for local people. The last area has been focused on aquaponic technologies on an industrial scale, exploring competitive systems to produce low-cost, healthy and sustainable food [144]. Funding Information: Funding: The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Univer-sität Hannover. Funding Information: The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Universit?t Hannover.

PY - 2022/5/1

Y1 - 2022/5/1

N2 - Resources such as fertile soil and clean water are already limited in many parts of the world. Additionally, the conventional use of arable land is becoming increasingly difficult, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Soilless cultivation systems do not only offer the opportunity to save water and cultivate without soil but also the chance to open up urban areas such as residential rooftops for food production in close proximity to consumers. In this review, applications of soilless farming systems are identified and compared to conventional agriculture. Furthermore, aspects of economic viability, sustainability and current developments are investigated. An insight into the most important soilless farming systems—hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming—is provided. The systems are then differentiated from each other and, as far as possible, evaluated in terms of their environmental impact and compared with conventional cultivation methods. Comparing published data analyzing the yield of hydroponic cultivation systems in comparison to soil-based cultivation methods enables a basic overview of the profitability of both methods and, thus, lays the foundation for future research and practical applications. The most important inert substrates for hydroponic applications are presented, and their degree of sustainability is compared in order to emphasize environmental impacts and affect substrate selections of future projects. Based on an assessment of the most important soilless cultivation systems, the challenges and developments of current techniques are highlighted and discussed.

AB - Resources such as fertile soil and clean water are already limited in many parts of the world. Additionally, the conventional use of arable land is becoming increasingly difficult, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Soilless cultivation systems do not only offer the opportunity to save water and cultivate without soil but also the chance to open up urban areas such as residential rooftops for food production in close proximity to consumers. In this review, applications of soilless farming systems are identified and compared to conventional agriculture. Furthermore, aspects of economic viability, sustainability and current developments are investigated. An insight into the most important soilless farming systems—hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming—is provided. The systems are then differentiated from each other and, as far as possible, evaluated in terms of their environmental impact and compared with conventional cultivation methods. Comparing published data analyzing the yield of hydroponic cultivation systems in comparison to soil-based cultivation methods enables a basic overview of the profitability of both methods and, thus, lays the foundation for future research and practical applications. The most important inert substrates for hydroponic applications are presented, and their degree of sustainability is compared in order to emphasize environmental impacts and affect substrate selections of future projects. Based on an assessment of the most important soilless cultivation systems, the challenges and developments of current techniques are highlighted and discussed.

KW - aquaponics

KW - hydroponics

KW - nutrients

KW - sustainability

KW - vertical farming

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128715144&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/plants11091153

DO - 10.3390/plants11091153

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85128715144

VL - 11

JO - Plants

JF - Plants

SN - 2223-7747

IS - 9

M1 - 1153

ER -